Grilled Honey Lemon Chicken Recipe

When you need dinner on the table fast, try our two-ingredient Grilled Honey Lemon Chicken recipe. This honey grilled chicken is packed with flavor and has a 30 minute marinade perfect for those last minute BBQs!

Let’s talk about two ingredient marinades! I knew that would grab your attention.

I love “quick and easy” just as much as you, and I love sharing when I have a winner like this honey lemon chicken marinade. You may even have these ingredients in your pantry, so grab some chicken breasts and a gallon size plastic bag and let’s go!

🍋 Ingredients

📝 Ingredient Notes

Chicken Breasts – You want to look for firm, plump chicken breasts. The meat should not look slimy, limp or yellow and should not have excess liquid around in the packaging. Make sure you trim the chicken breasts and look for any bones left by the butcher. It seems like that is happening more and more lately!

To prepare your chicken for marinating, place the chicken breasts between two layers of saran and pound them to about ¼ – ½” thick. This not only tenderizes the breasts, but they will absorb the marinade better and grill faster.

Honey – You don’t need fancy honey for this recipe, I’d buy a nice cheap honey for marinating meat. Honey counteracts the tartness of the concentrated lemonade.

Lemonade Concentrate – These cans of frozen lemonade concentrate can be found in your grocer’s freezer section and make an awesome marinade! Talk about flavor in a can! Let the frozen concentrate come to room temperature and it serves as the base for the marinade.

⏲️ Equipment and Tools

GrillGrate – This handy grilling tool helps you get the perfect even sear on your meat and keep the mess off your grill for easy clean up.

Rolling Pin – This is used to flatten the chicken when you have extra thick chicken breasts for honey lemon chicken. You can also use a meat mallet.

Plastic Zipper Bags – Gallon-size freezer quality bags with a zipper are best for marinating meat and make it so easy. The nice thing about using plastic bags for marinating is the clean-up. These bags are disposable, so all of the mess and germs from raw chicken can go straight into the trash. If you don’t use disposable bags, just make sure to clean your container of choice really well.

🔥 Instructions

Step One: Thaw the frozen lemonade to room temperature. You can leave it in the fridge overnight to do this. Then pour the concentrate into a jar or mixing bowl.

Step Two: Add the honey and stir or seal the jar and shake it up.

Step Three: Prepare the chicken by pounding it out to flatten it. You can use a rolling pin or meat mallet. Placing the meat between to sheets of plastic wrap will help contain the mess.

Step Four: Place the chicken in a plastic zipper bag with the marinade and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least thirty minutes.

Step Five: Heat up your grill to 350º and place the chicken on it.

Step Six: Flip the chicken after seven minutes and cook it for about seven minutes on each side. Your goal is an internal temperature of 165ºF. Use a probe thermometer so you don’t overcook your chicken!

❗ Recipe Tips and Tricks

Don’t add the honey until the lemonade mix is at room temperature. If you add it when it is cold, the honey will harden into clumps and won’t add much flavor. You want your honey lemon chicken marinade to be perfect!

If your chicken breasts are huge, consider pounding them down a bit or you will get hard, dry chicken on the ends and raw chicken in the middle. Another option is to use smaller breasts or cut the breasts in half.

Always put the plastic bag on a plate in the refrigerator as just in case there is a spill. Trust me, it happens, and the cleanup isn’t fun!

Allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes when you bring it off of the grill to allow the juices to stay in the meat rather than spilling out all over the place when you slice the meat.

Make sure to preheat the grill well so you grill the meat and not “oven roast” the meat. The grill needs time to heat up and the grill grate to get hot. Depending on your grill, that could be 10-30 minutes. 

🧑‍🍳 Storage and Reheating

Keep leftover BBQ lemon chicken in an airtight plastic container or freezer-quality plastic bag in your refrigerator for two or three days. Leftovers can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to three months.

Leftovers can be used cold in salads or sandwiches. If you prefer to heat it up, try thirty seconds in the microwave, but go easy because chicken gets rubbery fast when reheated this way. You can also reheat the chicken in a skillet or saucepan depending on how you will be using it.

Meal Prep

Make this in bulk and slice up the cooked meat to use in salads, sandwiches, and tacos. This delicious meat can be frozen after it is cooked and kept on hand for so many great recipes! Use it in quesadillas, tacos, tortilla soup, or on pasta. Cut it up and store it in individual containers with a half cup of rice, pasta and Alfredo sauce, or mashed potatoes for a quick grab and go lunch.

Additions and Substitutions

Add a few cloves of freshly minced garlic to the marinade for a delicious honey garlic lemon grilled chicken.

Chicken thighs or wings can be used in this recipe in place of the breasts.

If you want to go crazy, you can mix it up and do a lemon and lime concentrate together for a real citrus punch of flavor. Our lime concentrate chicken is another one that you can adopt quickly!

Pick any other frozen juice concentrate to try. You might find a different flavor profile you love!

Add salt and pepper for seasoning. If you want honey lemon pepper chicken, add extra pepper.

Serving Suggestions

Serve this with a fresh salad tossed with a sweet vinaigrette and a nice crusty French bread. You can also serve it with tasty sides such as roasted vegetables, Grilled Beer Corn, or even some Air Fryer Broccolini.

❓ Recipe FAQ

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